


Just Visiting

by Darkwillow6



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Best Friends, F/F, POV First Person, Phone Calls & Telephones, Questions, Suspicions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-07
Updated: 2020-02-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:21:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22592431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkwillow6/pseuds/Darkwillow6
Summary: Alex makes a decision about something and begins steps to follow through.
Relationships: Alex Danvers/Kelly Olsen
Comments: 6
Kudos: 55





	Just Visiting

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is life.

Usually, Kelly was the first one up in the morning even though her workday started later. Today, I was brimming with excitement and anxiousness so I barely managed to sleep in until 5am. l’d made a decision about something and today was the day I would take the next step. I opened the fridge in the still dark kitchen to grab some creamer for the coffee I was about to make. It was much more fully stocked than yesterday. Kelly must have gone shopping. 

I put a kettle full of water on the stove, always sure to take it off before it started to whistle. I'd switched to pour-overs when she moved in to minimize noise in the small studio. When the hot water was ready, I poured a cup for her, too, because the scent slowly drew her toward wakefulness. I smiled when she sat up and her half-closed eyes were aimed my way. She stretched and threw the blankets aside, shuffling to the bar.

"Why are you up so early?" she asked, voice still sleep addled.

"I need to go out of town today," I replied, handing her mug over.

"Thanks. For a mission?" she asked, taking a small sip to test the temperature.

"Sort of. Yeah," l said.

"How long will you be gone?" 

"Just overnight. I'll be back tomorrow," I replied.

We sat together at the bar drinking our coffee for the next few minutes. I hated the idea of not sleeping next to her tonight. Since she moved in a year and a half ago, we rarely spent a night apart. When our mugs were empty, I went to the bedroom to pack. I was making good headway until Kelly started getting ready for work. 

She took off her shirt and I was immediately distracted. I put down the pair of jeans that I was about to put in the suitcase and walked the few feet toward her. When I took her in my arms, the feeling of her bare breasts against me weakened my resolve to leave this room.

"Shouldn't you be packing?" she asked, an amused smile present.

"I'm not in a hurry," I said, moving my hands to her waist.

"I am," she said, backing out of the touch and heading for the dresser. "Early appointment." 

"But I won't see you until tomorrow," I pouted, reaching for her waistband in a final attempt.

"Well then I guess you've found motivation to complete your mission as quickly as possible." 

She was absolutely smug about how much more in control she was in this situation. I may not have been able to talk her into a morning quickie, but I was definitely going to allow myself the pleasure of watching her finish dressing. I only resumed packing when she was completely clothed. When she bent down to pick her shoes up off of the floor, I realized how long tonight would be. She was seconds from being out the door. After checking her hair one last time in the bathroom mirror, she stood in front of me.

“Be careful, Alex. Please,” she said, taking both of my hands.

“It’s not dangerous. I promise, you have nothing to worry about.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too,” I said just before she leaned in.

She always kissed me longer and more deeply before I left for a mission. When she pulled back, she gave my hand a light squeeze and then she was gone. I zipped my overnight bag and when I heard her car drive off, I looked for the most recent issue of the newspaper that James had sent us. I found it under a stack of books on the coffee table. I picked it up and headed out to my car with my bag, locking the door behind me.

No matter how certain I was about all of this, I didn’t know exactly how today would go. Various scenarios floated through my head with nothing to distract me except for some music. I wondered how many times I’d replayed the conversation, changing some words, reminding myself to stay focused on his reactions. I hoped it would be okay, but it wasn’t a guarantee and that was terrifying. 

Almost three hours after leaving home, I made it to James’ newly acquired office building. It was nothing like the floor to ceiling glass of the buildings in National City, but it seemed just how he described it and you could tell he loved being here and doing this. He’d made that much clear in his phone conversations with Kelly. His office door was open, but his head was down as he went over some drafts.

“You look like you’re working hard,” I said, startling him.

A few pages flew forward to the edge of his desk and he gasped subtly.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” I said.

“Yes, you did,” he replied, getting up from his desk and heading toward me.

“Okay. I did,” I said, just before he hugged me.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“Just visiting,” I replied.

He sat down on the couch and invited me to sit next to him. I did and my heart pounded because I knew he knew it was a lie.

“You show up at my office in the middle of the workday without so much as a text, and most surprisingly, without my sister and you want me to believe you’re just visiting?”

“She doesn’t know I’m here,” I added.

“Is she okay?” he asked, suddenly worried.

“She’s fine. Everything’s fine. I promise. There’s just something I wanted to talk to you about. Do you think we could have some dinner once you’re out of here?”

“Yeah. Of course,” he said, trying to read me. “What will you do until then?”

“I’m staying at the hotel a few blocks down. I’ll head over and get checked in, get settled, call Kelly.”

“Nah. You can’t stay at that place. I have a spare bedroom. Why don’t you stay with me?”

“You wouldn’t mind?”

“Of course not. Here. Take my key and I’ll meet you there when I get out of here,” he replied, removing the single key from his keyring.

“Thanks, James,” I replied, hugging him.

James texted me the address to his place and when l arrived, I called to cancel my hotel reservations. I found the guest room at the end of the hall and plopped down on the bed, already exhausted from the trip and the stress of the impending conversation with James. It remained unspoken, but we all knew how complicated this situation was. I’d always thought about how my relationship with James would change if things changed between Kelly and I. 

*Hey Babe. Just wanted to let you know that I’m here in town and getting settled in,* I texted her when I was finally done unpacking.

*I’m glad you made it safe. Will you call me tonight before you go to sleep? Even if it’s late,* she replied.

*Definitely,* I replied.

I set my phone down on the bedside table and kicked my shoes off. James wouldn’t be home for a couple of hours so I let myself slip into a restoring nap. I woke up to the sound of a soft knock on the door. When I groggily communicated that it was safe to enter, James opened the door, standing at the threshold while I sat up.

“Ready to eat?” he asked during my pandiculation.

“Yeah. I’ll be ready in five minutes,” I responded.

I put on my shoes before getting up and then I went across the hall to the bathroom while James waited in the living room. I returned some stray hairs to their place and washed my face in an effort to wake myself more fully. I also had to give myself quite the pep talk to even be able to come out of the bathroom. Today was a big deal no matter what came of our talk.

“Do you have a hidden gem you can suggest?” I asked when I met James in the living room.

“Burger place down the street. It’s better than Big Belly Burger,” he stated.

“That’s a bold statement, my friend. I hope you can back it up,” I replied. 

“Trust me,” he said, following me out the door.

The car ride, thankfully brief, was quiet. I couldn’t make conversation because I was still perfecting another in my mind. James didn’t seem to think anything out of the ordinary about the silence so I took in our surroundings as he drove slowly through his neighborhood. When we got there, I thought it was closed because there were hardly any cars in the parking lot.

“Benefit of living in a small town. Nothing’s crowded,” he said when we walked in and immediately found a booth.

I ordered a water when the waiter arrived a second later. James got coffee and, while it smelled delicious, my heart rate was already too fast.

“So, what’s going on?” he asked, unable to remain in suspense any longer.

“Right to it, huh?” I asked, taking a deep breath, but still looking at the menu.

“Look, if you came all the way here, it’s either really good news or really bad news. The longer you keep it to yourself, the more I think it might be bad news.”

“It’s not,” I assured him. 

That was when the waiter returned. For expediency, and because I knew I might not eat much of it, I ordered the same as James. Some onion ring and BBQ sauce monstrosity with way too few vegetables. There was no way it wasn’t going to taste amazing.

“So, then why are you so hesitant?” he asked when we were alone again.

“You’re my friend, James. But you’re also Kelly’s big brother. You protect her,” I started.

“Okay, and what is it that I need to protect her from?” he asked, leaning forward.

I was much more nervous than I’d expected, which I wouldn’t have believed to be possible. I took a deep breath, leveled my gaze at his inquiring one, and took a sip of my drink just to have another second.

“I’m going to ask Kelly to marry me,” I said, finally.

He sat back, surprised for a moment, but was otherwise unreadable. At that inopportune moment, our burgers were placed in front of us. The awkward silence stretched on until the waiter told us to enjoy and retreated into the kitchen.

“Alex, did you think I wouldn’t be okay with this?” he asked, clearly bothered by the implication.

“This is a big thing,” I said.

“It is. It’s a huge thing. And I saw it coming. You’ve been good for her. I haven’t seen her this happy in years. I don’t have anything to protect her from. In fact, I have a lot less to worry about because I know that you’ll do anything to protect her, too. I would have never been okay leaving National City if she didn’t have you,” he said.

I didn’t expect the tears that started falling. It was equal parts the sincerity of his words and the relief that it had all worked out in my favor. I grabbed a few napkins from the holder to dry my eyes before trying to reply.

“It means a lot to hear you say that. What you think… It’s important to me. That’s why I had to tell you in person. Before I told anyone else.”

“Wait. You told me before Kara?” he asked.

“Never tell her,” I warned.

“Never,” he agreed.

“Okay. Now, I’m seriously starving,” I said, feeling light.

James wasted no time with a response. Instead, he got a good grip on his burger and took a messy bite. I copied him and immediately learned that what he’d said was true. This was way better than Big Belly Burger. 

“Oh, wow,” I said, through a mouthful.

“Told you,” he said, after swallowing.

“Has Kelly been here?” I asked.

“No. I just found out about this place a month ago. You should bring her one when you go back tomorrow,” he suggested.

“Ah, but then she’d know I was here,” I countered.

“So, where is it that she thinks you are?” he asked.

“On a mission. I mean, that’s true. It’s just not for work.”

“When are you going to ask her?”

“When I get back,” I answered.

“Like, the second you get back?”

“I’d have asked her a week ago, but it took a while to be able to arrange this little field trip,” I said, eating a few fries.

“You don’t waste any time,” he laughed.

“With her? Not a chance,” I replied.

“Congratulations, Alex. I’m really happy for you. Both of you,” he said.

“Thanks, James. I just hope she says ‘yes’,” I replied, some of my insecurity slipping through.

“If she doesn’t, then she’s not as smart as she loves to remind me that she is.”

A few minutes later, the check came and James paid, saying it was a celebratory dinner. When we were back in the car, I thought about how grateful I was to keep all of my relationships intact. I still felt bad about the look on James’ face earlier, though. Once he’d pulled out of the parking space, I brought it up.

“I’m sorry for not trusting that you’d be happy for me,” I told him.

“Hey, it stung, but I get it. I know how serious you are about Kelly, though. I trust that you’ll always do the right thing when it comes to her. But, you know, if you don’t, I am going to have to take you out.”

“Not that you could. But you won’t have to,” I assured him.

“I know,” he said as we pulled up to his place.

When we got inside, James turned on the TV and went into the kitchen.

“You want a beer?” he asked, one for himself already on the counter.

“That’d be great. Thanks,” I said.

When he handed me the bottle, we both sat on the couch.

“So, it looks like things are going well with your paper. Kelly and I read all the ones you send. It looks like you’re making a difference like you wanted,” I said.

“It’s more than I even hoped for. Things are changing. It’s slow. Some days you go backwards just a little. But the momentum is there. The people here are willing to fight for a better community,” he replied.

“I’m proud of you,” I said, holding my beer up to toast.

He smiled, tapping his bottle against mine. Since I hadn’t seen him in so long, we spent a lot of time catching up on things that had happened since he’d moved. It was several hours and quite a few beers later before I realized I hadn’t called Kelly. 

“Hey, I’m going to call it a night. I need to call Kelly and get to bed. Thanks again for letting me stay, James,” I said, standing.

“Of course. Night, Alex,” he said, getting up to hug me.

When I got to my room, I closed the door behind me and got changed into my pajamas. I was under the covers a minute later listening to the ringer, waiting for Kelly to pick up.

“Hey, babe,” she said, voice soft.

“Were you asleep?” I asked, hoping I hadn’t woken her.

“No. I was just in bed, reading. Waiting for you to call.”

“Sorry it’s so late.”

“It’s only nine. It’s not late. So, how did everything go with your mission?”

"Flawless. I'll be home before dinner tomorrow night." 

"That's great news. I wish you were here tonight, though," she said.

"Me too," I replied.

"I got you something," she said, a notable lilt present.

"Oh yeah?" I asked, interest piqued.

Just then, she sent me a video call request and I sat up to rest against the headboard before answering. When she popped up on the screen wearing nothing but a pair of red lace panties and matching bra, I felt my face warming immediately. I only realized I hadn’t breathed when I was on the verge of passing out.

“You know, if I start driving now-”

“You need to rest. You must be exhausted.”

“Not anymore, I’m not,” I replied indignantly.

“So, you’re saying you like your gift?”

“I can’t wait to show you how much,” I said.

“Okay. I’m going to put my PJs on so I’m going to put the phone down for a second.”

“Whoa, whoa. What’s the rush?” I asked.

She rolled her eyes, but the playful smile remained. 

“At least let me take this off,” she said.

“Happily. Just prop me against the lamp or something. I have no interest in the ceiling fan,” I said.

She shook her head, but fulfilled my request. I was quiet for a moment so I could hear the sound of her unhooking the bra. When the final one released, the fabric dropped loosely to her forearms. Every now and then, she’d send me a risqué photo, but this was very unlike that in a lot of ways. My throat was dry though moisture was abundant elsewhere.

“Are you seriously turned on by this?” she asked, shyly.

My cheeks reddened further, having to admit it to her. Although, the alcohol made the words come easily.

“Are you kidding? Of course, I am.”

I toyed with the idea of letting my hand roam between my legs. Kelly was now in the process of retrieving and putting on a large tee shirt. I was still drawn into the feed before me when there was a knock on the door that startled me out of my trance.

“Uh, hang on one sec, Kel,” I said, setting the phone down so that she had a view of the ceiling.

“Sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to let you know that I put some fresh towels in the guest bathroom in case you want to shower in the morning. I’ll probably be gone before you get up.”

“Thanks, James. Goodnight,” I said, closing the door when he walked away.

I wondered if Kelly had heard anything.

“Everything okay?” Kelly asked when I picked the phone back up.

“Yeah. Everything’s fine.”

“Where are you sleeping tonight?” she asked.

I wasn’t sure what made her ask, but it made me nervous.

“Can’t say,” I told her.

“But you’ll be back tomorrow?”

“Promise. Now, where were we? I think you were removing clothing,” I said, settling back into bed.

“Actually, I still need to shower before bed so I think I’m going to have to say goodnight,” she said.

“Oh. Okay. Well, I’ll see you tomorrow, then. I love you,” I replied.

“I love you, too,” she said just before hanging up. 

I had some trouble sleeping because the alcohol was combatted by the pleasurable images of a partially naked Kelly lighting up my brain. And tomorrow, if everything went well, I’d be able to call her my wife inside of a year. I fell asleep just a few hours before my alarm went off. Despite that, I wasn’t tired. My body was already buzzing with anticipation for what would happen a few short hours from now.

James was already gone as he predicted, but I stopped to pick up some coffee and donuts for us to thank him for everything. When I knocked on his door, he took the box from me and opened it excitedly. With a plain glazed donut in his mouth, he took the coffee with his now free hand.

“Thank you. I’m starving,” he said once he’d set the box down.

“I can see that,” I said, amused.

“You ready for today?” he asked, sitting down.

I sat next to him trying to figure out how to answer.

“What if she’s not ready?” I asked, surprising myself.

“Why would you think that?” he asked, confused.

I couldn’t answer him. I wished I could because then he could tell me what I should do.

“Is this… Is it about her past?” he asked, realization now on his face.

“You know about her past?” I asked, shocked.

“Yeah.”

“How?”

“It wasn’t hard if you were paying attention. I was. It wasn’t just from being over there. It was more. I was at her place once not long after she’d gotten back and I saw the obituary cut out on her kitchen table. Everything made sense, then. Anyway, it took a long time for Kelly to be herself again.”

“Does she know that you know?” 

“No. I figured she’d tell me when she was ready. She still hasn’t brought it up, though. I think it’s just too hard for her to talk about. I just wish she knew that she can. It’s another reason I’m glad she has you.”

“That’s just it. I’m afraid she won’t want to marry me. Either because she’ll feel guilty for replacing someone she lost or because she’ll worry that if we get engaged, something will happen to me like it did to her.”

“You’ve thought about it a lot,” he said, grabbing a powdered donut.

“Because what if I’m never enough?”

“Alex, I haven’t seen my sister look twice at anyone since she got back to the states. You brought her back to herself. You’re more than enough,” he assured me.

“Thanks,” I said, taking a deep breath.

“Now, go. Ask,” he said, practically shooing me out the door.

“Bye. I love you,” I said, hugging him tightly.

“Love you, too.”

Besides the heavy traffic, my nerves made the trip unbearable. It took half an hour longer than expected and I was relieved to finally be putting my key in the door. As soon as I got inside, I saw Kelly in the kitchen drinking a glass of wine. I went to join her and leaned in to kiss her. I put my arms around her waist, but hers remained at her sides. When I pulled back, she wouldn’t make eye contact.

“Hey. What’s wrong?” I asked, concerned.

“You lied to me,” she said, taking a small step back.

“I’m sorry,” I said, not wanting to make things worse.

“Why?” she asked, crossing her arms.

“I needed to talk to him.”

“So, why not just tell me that?” she asked.

“I was worried you would ask more questions,” I replied.

“Because you running off and hiding something definitely wouldn’t have the same result, right?” she asked.

Kelly didn’t typically resort to sarcasm, but I’d apparently gotten her to that point. She was right about everything, too, so that certainly didn’t help my case. My hands were in my pockets, knuckles brushing against the small box in the left one. She stepped close, then, forgiveness already softening her.

“Alex, when have I ever pushed you to talk about something you didn’t want to?”

“I know. You’re right. I just… I couldn’t risk you finding out,” I said.

“About what?” she asked, worried.

“About this,” I replied, holding out the small box.

My heart was pounding in my ears and my anxiousness grew exponentially with every second that passed before she took it.

“Alex, is this-” she started, eyes tearing already.

“Yes,” I interrupted, gently taking the box from her.

I took a step back so that I could get on one knee before opening the box. I took her hand and hoped I could remember even a fraction of what I wanted to say. 

“Oh, god,” she whispered behind her other hand.

She was nearly sobbing now.

“Kelly, I never thought I’d find someone like you. I… I’d pretty much given up the idea that I could be happy again. And you understand that better than anyone. I want you to know that I’m not trying to replace her. I just want to be with you forever, that’s all. Even if you’re not ready. Even if you’re never-”

“Yes,” she said, still wiping tears from her cheeks with her free hand.

Now that I’d stopped talking, tears overtook me, too. I struggled through blurry vision to get the ring out of the box. I slid it onto her finger, surprisingly on the first attempt, before she yanked me up. As soon as I was on my feet, she kissed me, clutching me to her tightly. I held her waist, keeping her against me. After only a few seconds, she pulled back, sniffling.

“I love you,” I said, my forehead now resting against hers.

“I love you, too,” she replied, breath still shuddering.


End file.
